Tumbleweed

Most recent activity

• Bike noise, creak, click, creaks, clicks, clicking, pinging sound - help

  in Mechanics & Fixin' • 13 years, 7 months

  

  I'll never be a weight weenie or I'd have to stop drinking beer! If you see how much it costs to save a gram you'd be best off to go on a diet or spend more time training or something or, umm, spend less time on the internet cough. I like heavy bikes and the best example is an old BSA 3 speed roadster from the 50s with a top tube shifter - They are so smooth and sturdy and comfortable.

  As for noise on the fixed gear, it can get a little obsessive. Brickman, you are 100% right about MTBs and those jockey wheels.. lots of noise there and a lot more of an orchestra of clatter so that nothing really stands out.

  After about 50 miles that drive train on the Phil / Miche combo settled down and it's more like a gentle sewing machine noise now.

• Star nut removal

  in Mechanics & Fixin' • 13 years, 7 months

  

  Can you stick something up from underneath to catch the SFN from turning? Long screwdriver or coat hanger wire?

  Normally:
  I've taken out a few with just a pair of needle nose plyers. Just grab one of the fins of the SFN with your plyers and twist. The metal is strong, but very brittle so it will normally just snap off. Once you take of a few of these you can knock the think laterally and it will fall out sideways.

  Another way is to get a handfull of drill bits and go bigger till you kill the SFN. I once had an old Rock Shox fork that had a SFN in each end of the steer tube, the extra was to hold a fender so knocking out the back was not an option.

  Some carbon forks have a Steel, Titanium or other Alloy steer tube. I've seen SFN in all of these, but it's a big No-No to use them in Carbon Steer tubes.

• Loose Crank Arm Problem

  in Mechanics & Fixin' • 13 years, 7 months

  

  alley key you say... my torque wrench is 2 feet long and i still lean on it. I wonder how tight it really is?

  Reminds me of a hill in Wales we tried to bike up, it got so steep we had to get off and push -- and then that became difficult. Everyone has a different idea of a steep hill I guess. loose means something, hand tight also, but when it comes to tight, very tight,.. etc. it gets a littly airy. If you're around FInchley, or West Hampsted I'll torque it for you if you like. What Cranks are you using?

• Loose Crank Arm Problem

  in Mechanics & Fixin' • 13 years, 7 months

  

  I have a bike that has this problem, The crank is still square, and the much harder spindle looks fine too. It's a strange chainless bike with a drive shaft, but I think you may want to replace/upgrade the crank bolt (sometimes they dont fit snug - it should also be the allen key type if pos.) and then torque about 10% more than specified.

  Grease the inner flange of that crank bolt.

  Also, it's always the non drive side that comes loose as the drive side does not carry much or any real torsional load on the axle. Left side transmits power through the spidle and puts a lot more stress on the Square taper.

• Weird Cog Issue

  in Mechanics & Fixin' • 13 years, 7 months

  

  yeah, make sure he is not using a Campi or Miche lockring (unless he's running a miche or Campi hub ofcourse). The cogs seem to fit on both types but the lockrings are different. I put a miche lockring on my system EX hub on my frist fixed gear bike and it was just sitting there not holding a darn thing but still enough thread to sit there looking like it was.

  I really like the miche lockring because you can use it with the Park Tool BBT7 bottom bracket tool and is way better than the hook spanners. Shame it only works with italian track hubs.

• Loctite 290

  in Mechanics & Fixin' • 13 years, 7 months

  

  http://www.jensonusa.com/store/product/CM407F00-Loctite+248+Stick+Medium+Threadlocker.aspx

  Oh good, the type I used was Blue........

• Cottered BB/crank problem

  in Mechanics & Fixin' • 13 years, 7 months

  

  Looks like a nice bike, would use a cotter press. That ball joint splitter tool that olik pointed out looks promising. I always use automotive bearing tools to remove crown race and a couple of other jobs that tend to be cheaper than buying some park doodad. I was lucky and picked up one of the Park Tools cotter press tools from the 80s, it was overpriced but was in love with my cotter cranks. I've tried the hammer approach too and it does work but it was awkward holding the bike up like that and yes, Like Brickman says, you must support the crank and have no pressure on cups and bearings etc.

  There are also differnt size and shapes of cotter. So when you get that one loose you can use it as a specimen. I think SJS may stock cotters but I could be wrong -- yeah they do. 77p each but maybe not he right size but could be worth a shot.

• Loctite 290

  in Mechanics & Fixin' • 13 years, 7 months

  

  duh, wups... it's 248 that I was using. Don't ever trust me to remember anything involving numbers.

• Loctite 290

  in Mechanics & Fixin' • 13 years, 7 months

  

  I got some 290 locktite that came in a glue stick format (and red like lipstick too). Now I can say that it was a good thing to use when installing alloy cups in a steel frame (check me if I'm wrong). - But it was good because it added lubrication when tightening the bottom bracket and I suppose it filled some of the gaps that could click or creak. I had to work pretty fast though as it starts to set in about 5 min.

  Also, when you open the stick - cut away some off the end and dispose of it so you have some fresh product that has not made contact with air.

  I can't really review the product though, as I've not yet had to undo the part. But It can't be worse than something that has rust welded itself into place. Loctite is a good idea if you can get your hands on the stuff.

  Campi or shimano BBs I would not bother (if one side is a fixed cup with a flange), but with Miche or Phil, or anything French, the loctite is probably a good idea.

  I've never heard of it being used on Spokes and Nipples but it sounds sort of like a good idea if you remember to over tighten then backup a little to untwist the spoke. Its certainly different compared to the usual tradition of a drop of oil.

  The 290 I used was about a year off it's expiry date, but like Film you can sometimes get away with it if it was stored correctly. I'd be glad to give you what I've got left if you're local (North W London).

• Removing Surly Stickers

  in Mechanics & Fixin' • 13 years, 7 months

  

  Thumbnail works really well but you'll need some time for them to grow back in order to finish the job... took me a few weeks. Then finish up with WD40 to mop up any glue and dirt stuck to that glue. If the decals are aged that you may not have any of that sappy glue to deal with.

  Overall the decals are pretty good, not impossible to get off but still strong for those who like the branding. I'm not fond of the www.com stuff or the fff .tm bloat, otherwise the steamroller name on top tube can stay, and I like the leaded surly type on the forks.

  I delaminated my credit card using my credit as a scraper. It still worked, but the lady at the bank was a little confused when I showed her the blank card.